COVID-19, Banks, and Fintechs

74 Consumer Finance Law Quarterly Report 346 (2021)

U of Alabama Legal Studies Research Paper No. 3777562

55 Pages Posted: 3 Feb 2021 Last revised: 2 Mar 2022

See all articles by Julie Andersen Hill

Julie Andersen Hill

University of Alabama - School of Law

Date Written: September 1, 2021

Abstract

The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic and the social distancing measures implemented to stop its spread will leave its mark on people, industries, and government policies long after the disease's health risk recede. One of the industries that has been transformed is financial services. As the pandemic spread, customers flocked to online and mobile platforms for financial services. Banks turned to fintech companies for the technology and expertise to be able to safely provide these products. Thus the pandemic hastened the adoption of technology by traditional banks and opened new partnership opportunities for non-bank fintech companies. The pandemic also reoriented financial regulators toward technology. Like banks, regulators turned to technology to perform many of their supervisory functions. At the same time, by highlighting the risks that arise when technology does not live up to its promise, the pandemic encouraged regulators to scrutinize banks' use of technology and bank-fintech partnerships. Finally, the pandemic will accelerate the transformation of some fintech companies from agile disruptors operating largely outside significant regulatory framework, to mainstream financial services companies that are regulated more like traditional banks. Policymakers will have difficult decisions about the best way to bring fintech companies within the regulatory fold. Nevertheless, the pandemic emphasized that fintech is now a critical element of a modern financial system.

Keywords: fintech, bank, COVID-19, pandemic, technology, stimulus, regulation, regtech

JEL Classification: K2, K23, G21, G28

Suggested Citation

Hill, Julie Andersen, COVID-19, Banks, and Fintechs (September 1, 2021). 74 Consumer Finance Law Quarterly Report 346 (2021), U of Alabama Legal Studies Research Paper No. 3777562, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3777562 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3777562

Julie Andersen Hill (Contact Author)

University of Alabama - School of Law ( email )

P.O. Box 870382
Tuscaloosa, AL 35487
United States

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